Unexpected Twists
by Nymphadora the Chameleon
Summary: Harry has the worst luck, but the after the last task of the Tri wizard tournament his luck takes an unexpected twist. Will this help him to defeat Voldemort and will this give him the family he has always wanted? HP/FD/NT pairing. Warning- femmslash
1. Chapter 1

**Harry Potter is not my work. It belongs to J.K. Rowling. It is her world I'm just playing with it**

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 **Unexpected Twists**

 **Chapter 1: Prologue**

 **No Pov**

There is a moment in every person's life when they just have a bad day. Their luck just isn't there and nothing can stop this string of unfortunate mishaps. Harry Potter had to many of those days. He knew all about moments where it seemed like the universe wanted to perpetually pile on every ounce of luggage it could just to see if you could keep standing.

You could say his bad luck started before he was even born with a prophecy a two-bit hack of a divination teacher happened to give in an interview, not that Harry knew that, yet. It could also be said that it was bad luck that led to a young death eater with too much ambition and not enough common sense ran to a dark lord and told him about less than half of the prophecy. It is even possible that it was only bad luck that said dark lord honed in immediately on Harry as the most likely candidate for the prophecy instead of Neville Longbottom. Did his bad luck end with the deaths of both of his parents? Of course it didn't.

An old man who didn't bother to listen to one of his professors, or spies depending on how you look at it, left him with the worst excuses for relatives ever. His luck randomly looked up like when he ended up on the roof when his cousin and his gang was chasing him, or when all his hair grew back over night after a bad haircut, but it was never good very long. There was always a troll, possessed professor, basilisk, innocent serial killer turned god father or bloated uncle waiting to remind Harry how bad his luck could get.

That's why when Harry's name shot out of the goblet he was surprised, but not overly so it was Halloween, after all, and he was angry, of course, but he was the universes punching bag and always had been. He expected taunts and jeers, especially from the Slytherins, but he never expected his best friend, Ron, to turn his back on him. Ron didn't hesitate to join in the jeering and whispers. It hurt more than everyone else combined, even more than the French champion calling him a little boy, or Hufflepuffs who used to be friendly to him suddenly deciding he wasn't worth their time because he was stealing Cedric's spotlight. The worst part is he didn't blame them, not really, he knows how bad it looks. It was just some really awful luck and it was only going to get worse, probably.

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 **AN: I finally decided to take the plunge and write my own story. This will be my stress relief from grad school so I will try to update every week.**


	2. Chapter 1 The unlucky veela

**Chapter 1**

 **The Unlucky Veela**

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 **Harry POV:**

The final task of the Tri wizard tournament was finally here, after months of trying not to die Harry was ready to, hopefully still not die, and put this entire tournament behind him. He didn't want to win, well it would be nice to win, but surviving was way more important to him than winning a tournament he never wanted to be in. Especially, since Fleur, the French champion, has been staring at him strangely since he pulled her sister out of the lake in the second task. It was like she wanted to say something to him, but couldn't bring herself to. He knew she was thankful, she had told him as much by the lake. Harry had been distracted and cold at the time, although Ron greatly enjoyed her thanks. Harry was just so used to her haughtily ignoring him and generally making him feel as though he was too young to be worth her lowering her nose from the sky. He had not forgotten her comment in the antechamber about being a 'leetle boy'. He liked to think with every task he was proving her wrong and here he was at the third task tied for first. Speaking of the task it was probably time that he concentrated more on making it through the one he was getting ready to run into. No sooner had that decision been made then Bagman began announcing the last task.

He ran into the maze at a slow jog until he made it to his first cross section. The maze had been impressive before they had entered, but after the hedges encased him, well they were just creepy. It was like someone put a silencing charm on the maze and he couldn't hear anything outside of it. He paused looking both ways before he cast a quick point me charm that Hermione had taught him a couple of days ago and turned right. He figured he would have to keep using the charm until he made it to the center. There was a loud cannon boom and Harry knew that one of the other champions was in the maze with him and Cedric. Harry took a sharp left and ran into the Hufflepuff. He was dirty and limping with ripped pants.

"Hey, Harry, watch for the blast-ended shrewts. They're huge and they pack a punch." Cedric grunted.

"Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah, this will be fine. I already wrapped it." Suddenly another boom went off through the maze. "I guess that's our cue to keep moving then, Harry."

"Guess so. Good luck Cedric." After wishing him luck he kept moving on his previous path at a quicker pace than before. As he moved toward another fork in the path the temperature dropped dramatically and he was taken with chills before three shrouded wraiths began gliding towards him.

'Why the Hell would someone put dementors in a maze', then he realized how stupid that thought was as soon as he'd had it. Of course, they put dementors in a maze it was entertainment to everyone, but the champions. He threw out his wand and yelled Expecto Patronum. He didn't hesitate to run through the path his large silver stag patronus carved out for him. He took several turns blindly just trying to put some distance between himself and the dementors. When he stopped running he cast another point-me charm and kept straight until golden mist blocked his path. He could probably go back, but he really didn't want to there was no way to know how long it would take to find another way to the cup. He held his breath and took a step into the mist. As soon as his eyes were open he wanted to close them again everything that was up was down including the ground. He decided he wanted to be away from there before he got sick and took a few more steps and suddenly the world righted itself. He thought there would be more obstacles in the maze. He had already run into the dementors, but other than the creatures and mist he hadn't come across anything to taxing, which was actually disconcerting the more he considered it.

He had only taken a few more steps before he heard the most horrific scream coming from somewhere close to him. He barely even considered the consequences as he started sprinting through the maze. Harry knew he needed to check the direction so he paused long enough to cast another point me this time concentrated on the sound of the screams which were becoming louder and progressively more distressed. Once he had a direction he ran as fast as he could. He had barely cleared the corner when he heard Krum yelling out Crucio and Fleur scream. Harry peaked around the corner to try to assess the situation only to see Krum rear back to cast a different spell.

"Avad…"

"Stupefy!" Krum wasn't able to finish throwing the killing curse before Harry had thrown a stunner so strong it threw the quidditch star into the hedges of the maze. He ran over to Fleur and immediately threw up red sparks. She looked terrible her arms and legs were bent at the wrong angles and he saw a bone stuck out of her shin. She had a layer of downy feathers across her arms and hairline plus what looked like two bent wings folded under her. She kept mumbling with tears streaking down her face.

"What is it, Fleur?" Harry was frantically trying to help while not touching her so that her injuries did not get any more severe than they already were. The most he could do without causing her more pain was to make sure that none of the creatures in the maze found her before someone could retrieve her.

"Everyzing, you get everyzing. Zank you, 'Arry… hurts" she was clearly delirious and was making less sense the longer she tried to talk.

"Fleur, stay awake and try not to talk until someone gets here." Harry was desperately looking around and then he saw professor McGonagall fly down on a broom with Madam Hooch.

"Mr. Potter, we saw your sparks. What in Merlin's beard happened to Ms. Delacour and Mr. Krum?" She screeched upon seeing the champions from Bulgaria and France unconscious and in Fleur's case gravely injured.

"I heard her screams and when I got here Krum was about to use the killing curse on her. I stunned him, but why would he do that he never made it seem like he was so desperate to win?" the last part was said more to himself than to his head of house. She and madam hooch were using basic healing and levitation charms on Fleur and full body binds to secure Krum.

"Will you be continuing, Potter?" McGonagall clearly still in shock at the situation.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then you will need to get moving, but expect us to have to talk to you at the end of the tournament about what happened here." He threw one last look to the other two champions before he ran off in the direction he vaguely remembered being the center of the maze. He was no longer being as cautious as he was before he just wanted this stupid tournament over. He was concentrating so hard on the path that he almost missed the pinschers that shot out from a sharp right turn he was taking. Harry dropped to the ground as fast as he could and rolled out of the way. The shrewt's shells were very hard and resistant to magic so he would have to do something else. The best bet not to end up as a snack as to shoot something strong at the shrewt's soft underside. Harry had curled as far into the hedge as he could before he decided to do something stupid, again.

'Why me' he thought before he rolled under the shrewt and shot off the strongest bombarda he had ever done. Which wasn't saying much since he had only just learned the spell in the last month because Hermione insisted. The shrewt rolled over on its back with a huge hole blasted through the shell. That was not a pet and Harry and Hagrid needed to talk about what was appropriate to raise because those just shouldn't exist. He knew he had to be close to the center of the maze. He took another left and came face to face with a woman's face atop a lion's body. He was gob smacked there was a sphinx sitting in the middle of a maze in Scotland telling him that the fastest way to the cup and the end of this God forsaken tournament was a riddle.

"I think I'd like to answer the riddle please."

"Which creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three legs in the evening?" Harry was reminded of Ginny's friend Luna who loved riddles and generally spoke in them. She even played riddle games with Harry on occasion. He smiled before he answered the creature.

"Man."

"Correct, you may proceed past me." The sphinx moved to the side of the path leaving the entrance wide open. The cup wasn't far so Harry jogged through the maze with his wand out ready to defend himself, but it wasn't really him that needed to worry. Cedric ran across the path he was jogging down like a demon was chasing him, but in this maze maybe one was. Sure enough only a couple of seconds later an acromantula ran after him.

"Stupid Gryffindor." Harry muttered to himself as he took off running after the Hufflepuff and giant spider. Once he gets there Harry realizes that the acromantula has Cedric backed into a corner while he tries to fight it off the best he could with his leg even more busted than it was after the blast-ended shrewt.

Stupefy! Harry shouted the spell hoping it would be enough to at the very least get its attention off of Cedric long enough for him to actually help using spells from the seventh year because Harry doubted stunners and minor cutting hexes would be enough. Fortunately, Cedric seemed to figure out that he needed help just as the spider was bearing down on him the Hufflepuff shot a piercing hex through acromantula. That was definitely one way to kill a spider.

"You have to teach me how to do that." Harry told Cedric as he hobbled over to him on his bad leg.

"After you came back and helped me I'll teach you every hex I know."

"Let's go get that cup. I am so tired of this tournament." The clearing that held the Twi wizard cup suddenly seemed to open up and the air stood still. "Let's grab it and go, and before we have an argument about who deserves it we have been helping each other through the whole tournament." Harry cut any arguments Cedric wanted to make off at the knees. The older boy nodded and together the reached out and touched the cup. They felt the hook of a portkey pull them into a swirl of colors.


	3. Chapter 2

Harry and Cedric land with a thump when he looks around he realizes they are in a graveyard.

"Is this part of the tournament, Harry?"

"I don't know. Wands out do you think? Just in case." Harry suggested feeling more nervous as they moved further into the graveyard.

"I can't believe the cup was a port key." Cedric remarked moving further into the graveyard. Harry looked around with a growing sense of deja vue until he saw it. The statue over the grave marked Riddle from his dreams.

"Cedric, we need to go. Now!" Harry was almost in a panic trying to get Cedric back to the cup. He went to grab the wayward Hufflepuff when he noticed a hooded figure carrying a bundle towards the cauldron set up in front of the angel of death grave marker.

"Kill the spare." Was hissed and immediately followed by a brilliant green light. Harry saw Cedric's body hit the ground just before his world went black. The first thing he realized when he started to come around was the sound. All he could hear was bubbling and a voice hissing and sounding progressively angrier.

"Hurry up, Wormtail! You useless excuse for a wizard. I want my body."

"It is ready now, master. We can begin the ritual now." Wormtail smiled at Harry before pointing his wand at the ground and chanting. "Bone of the father unknowingly given, you will renew your son." A bone popped up from the earth and landed in the cauldron. Wormtail pulled out a silver knife and took a deep breath before he continued. "Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed, you will revive your mast." With that Peter cut his right hand off and dropped it into the cauldron to join the bone. Cradling the stump where his wand hand used to be, Pettigrew, used the knife to cut Harry's shirt so he could continue the ritual. Harry struggled but was tied to tightly to the statue. "Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe."

The potion instantly began turning from grey to red with the new drops of Harry's blood. He hoped Voldemort drowned in the cauldron as that bloody rat cowered off the side cradling his self-inflicted wound. 'I never have had that kind of good luck though' he thought as the entire cauldron went up in flames before it suddenly died down just as quickly. Voldemort rose from the cauldron like he was death itself.

"Wormtail, robe me, and give me my wand."

"Yes, master." Wormtail skittered up to the snake faced bastard and pulled the robe over him, as best he could with one hand. Voldemort took the wand that was offered to him and stroked it. Harry was actually not feeling as terrified as he was a minute ago. Now he was mostly creeped out at the display. Of course, that changed as soon as Voldemort looked at him and his head felt like it was being split in two where his scar was. The now clothed and armed dark lord grinned at him before turning back to Wormtail.

"Your arm Wormtail." It was clearly a demand and not a request, but Pettigrew smiled and said thank you as he held his stump out. "Not that arm, you blithering idiot!" Voldemort hissed. Wormtail looked like he might cry as he showed his dark mark to him. He pushed his wand to it.

"Let's see who is brave enough to come back to me." Within just a few minutes' time figures started apparating into the graveyard around them in plumes of black smoke. A dozen death eaters in full regalia stood in a circle around Harry and Voldemort waiting to watch their lord kill the boy -who -wouldn't -die -the -first -time. Voldemort started lecturing the death eaters on how cowardly they were after the last war as he snatched their masks off. There were plenty of people that Harry didn't know but some he did, too. Grab Senior, Goyle, Lucius Malfoy and McNair were all there begging and pleading for their master's forgiveness.

"Wormtail, came back to me. He did it out of fear instead of loyalty, but he has been useful to me. I reward loyalty." Voldemort performed a spell at the coward's stump and a stream of silver surrounded where his hand used to be and a hand appeared. Voldemort had been regaling his followers with tales of how Lily's Potter's magic made it so that he could not touch him, while Harry tried to subtly wiggle out of the hold he was in, but Voldemort walked up to him and the closer he came the worse his scar seared. By the time the snake put a white finger against Harry's head he was sure his scar was bleeding, it hurt so badly.

"They taught you to duel at Hogwarts, I assume. Give him his wand" Voldemort walked to the other end of his circle of followers. "Now we bow to each other. I am just a stickler for formality, Harry." He said with a sick grin on his face, which turned into a sneer when he realized that Harry was not bowing to him. "I said bow!" Using his wand Voldemort made Harry bow. Before he could even raise his wand Harry felt his nerves on fire like his body was ripping apart and he was being stabbed everywhere all at the same time. When it finally stopped he heard the death eaters laughing, and saw that Riddle was gloating over his victory with his back turned. He used that moment to run behind a different tombstone. 'I need a plan'. He did not have to figure out a way back to the cup before Voldemort was yelling at him not to hide. 'You know what fine. I am sick of running anyway.' He marched in front of the dark tosser and whipped his wand up.

 _Avada Kedavra_

 _Expelliarmus_

Harry expected to die or if he was lucky snake face would miss, but instead their wands locked together. He tried to yank his wand away, but it wouldn't budge and a golden cage formed around them. Cedric came from the Voldemort's wand, then an old man that Harry didn't know followed by the one's that stopped him from breathing, his parents.

"We're proud of you. We can hold him off, but only for a few moments. When you let the connection go get back to the cup." Lily Potter, the practical one, told him quickly.

"Harry, will you take my body back?" He struggled to nod at the Hufflepuff. He was almost ready to make a run for it, when his father interrupted him briefly.

"If I'm not mistaken there's a rat next to the boy's body. Wouldn't it be a great prank if he ended up going too." Ever the marauder, James Potter smirked at his son quickly like this situation wasn't dangerous enough. He broke the link to Voldemort and ran towards Cedric's body. He threw a stunner at Pettigrew who was crouching beside a grave marker between him and Cedric. I could have fist pumped when he saw the rat slump down across Cedric's legs, but he was dodging the spells from Voldemort's followers. He made sure he had a hold on Cedric's body and Wormtail's shirt before he summoned the tri wizard cup. He felt the uncomfortable hook sensation around his navel and they were gone.

They landed with a thump. Harry threw Wormtail's shirt away from Cedric's body while he cried in relief. Dumbledore made it to him first and tried to pry him away from the other Hogwarts's champion. A stern looking light brunette ran up with a younger pink haired woman following closely.

"What happened? Is that Peter Pettigrew? Auror Dawlish, Auror Tonks secure him while we get some veritaserum for questioning." She started barking orders to the people around her.

"Now hold on just a minute Madam Bones. This is ridiculous, clearly this man cannot be Peter Pettigrew he was killed by Sirius Black. The boy had to have been confounded." Minister Fudge looked ready to explode he was so red.

"No, Minister, this a job for the DMLE and I am the head of that department. As the head of the DMLE I am well within my rights to detail a suspect until he can be questioned. If he is not who he appears to be we will find out shortly." While they continued to argue over the fate of Pettigrew, Moody told Harry to follow him into the castle so he could help him with his injuries. As Professor Moody dragged Harry through the castle, he couldn't stop seeing that awful look of surprise and terror on Cedric's face when the killing curse struck him. He hated that he offered to take the cup with Cedric instead of just him, after all it was him that Voldemort wanted. Kill the spare, was what he said. The spare, like the kind Hufflepuff was nothing more than rubbish to be disposed of in the bin. He didn't come out of these thoughts until Moody locked the door to his office and have him sit down by the large trunk in the corner.

"How was it, Potter?" Moody asked while he handed Harry a goblet of water. "To stand in front of the Dark Lord?"

"It was terrifying, like all of my nightmares come alive, at once." He replied with a shiver.

"Does that wound still hurt?" Moody asked while he limped away looking through bottles on his shelves. "How many of his followers showed up in the graveyard, Potter? How many begged for forgiveness for not showing their loyalty to the Dark Lord?" Harry was about to answered when he realized that he never told anybody that he was in a graveyard. He had been too distraught when he landed with Cedric and Wormtail to tell anyone anything other than that he was back.

"I don't believe I mentioned a graveyard professor." Harry told him while edging slowly toward the door. Moody whipped around and pulled his wand from his robes, but before he could get it level the door blew off its hinges and Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape barged with their wands drawn. The Scottish professor pulled him behind her while they secured the imposter to a chair and Snape poured Veritaserum down his throat.

"Are you Alastor Moody?" Albus asked.

"No." The imposter didn't explain further and he answered the question.

"Is the real Moody alive?"

"For now."

"Where is he?" Professor Dumbledore looked startled when the imposter looked in the corner where the large trunk lay. "He's there." The Professors immediately opened the trunk to see if the former auror needed more medical assistance than they could give to get him to the hospital wing. He was missing his enchanted eye, fake leg and clumps of hair, but was overall mostly angry at still being in the sodding trunk. Before the professors could get him out the fake Professor Moody started to morph before their eyes. Snape had informed them that it was polyjuice in the flask he had been drinking from all year. When his form had completely reverted back to what it was they all recognized him as Barty Crouch, Jr.

"Send a patronus to Madam Bones, Minerva. Have her send some aurors to collect Mr. Crouch. You and Professor Snape stay with him while I get Harry and Alastor to the infirmary. Severus, do not give him the antidote for the Veritaserum until Amelia arrives she may want to question him further."

"Yes, Headmaster." They replied as Professor Dumbledore helped Moody to the hospital wing with Harry following closely behind him.

"Mr. Potter, I should have known you would end up in my wing somehow, but I guess I was to hopeful. I gave your bed to Ms. Delacour. You may use the one next to her while I get Alastor settled.

"Yes, ma'am." He replied while he laid down in the next bed over. He saw a young girl and a beautiful blond woman that he had seen talking to Fleur that morning looking at her fondly, she had to be Fleur's mother.

"Harry, zhank 'ou for saving my seester from zhe maze." Gabrielle told him in her broken English. She looked like she wanted to pounce on him, but fortunately her mother held her back sensing that it would only cause the young man that saved her daughter more pain.

"Yes, zhank you monsieur Potter for saving my daughter. We can never repay you for your kindness in zhe maze." Her English was much better than Gabrielle's, but then again she was an adult.

"You're welcome, but anyone would have done it."

"Non, most would have left her zhere and continued on zheir way, but not you." She gave him an intense look for a moment before Professor Dumbledore interrupted them.

"I wanted to say good night, Harry. Listen to Madam Pomphrey and I will be here to see you again tomorrow. I also imagine Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger are rather desperate to see you, as well, if you like…" he was interrupted by Minister Fudge storming in the room with an auror behind him.

"Here are your winnings. We were supposed to have a ceremony, but all things considered and with the panic you started this will have to do." He snarled as he dumped a bag of gold onto the table next to Harry's bed. All of the people in the room, other than the minister, were glaring at him for his treatment before he stormed away. Dumbledore nodded at Harry and Mrs. Delacour before quietly leaving after him.


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: So great news. We are finally through all of the background information and we got to meet Tonks last chapter. Yay! I am hoping that now that we have waded through the parts of the story that we all know this will get more interesting. Also the pairing will end up being Harry/Fleur/Tonks, but it will take a little while to get to that part of the pairing. We can finally see what is going on with Dumbledore and Mr. Delacour and get this plot rolling a little bit. This is my first story so if any one has any suggestions or comments please review and let me know and if I feel like they will work with the overall plot I will look into it. Also I am American so I may not get the British dialect right all of the time and I tried to mimic the French accent to different degrees for different characters.  
**

 **Disclaimer: Not my world I just play here.**

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Chapter 3: The Contract

Dumbledore had made it out of the hospital wing and down the hall in the direction of his office. He was considering all the ways they were not prepared to fight this new war with Tom, especially when Minister Fudge seemed more than happy to bury his head in the sand. He was afraid that he had not amassed enough resources to help him and his order fight off the Death eaters until Harry was ready to learn the truth and face Tom Riddle once and for all. He was also going to have trouble keeping him with his relatives half the summer if Sirius was pardoned, but he just had to hope that Sirius understood that he was not the best person to care for his godson, and that his best protections lay with the blood wards around his home in Little Whinging. His musings were interrupted by Mr. Delacour walking up to him quickly.

"Dumbledore, may I speak whiz you in your office, plaire?"

"Ah, of course, Mr. Delacour, I was just in the infirmary. I was sorry to see how badly young Miss Delacour was injured. You have my greatest sympathies, as well as, my hope for her speedy recovery." Dumbledore responded looking tired while they finished the walk to his office. "Now, what may I assist you with Mr. Delacour?"

"I insist zhat you call me Sebastien, headmaster. I was wandering what you know of life debts, especially in zhe veela culture?"

"A fascinating subject, but alas one I do not know nearly as much about as I wish I did. Veela are, as I am sure you know, very insular. They almost never share their culture with anyone other than spouses and children. I do know that life debts are taken a great deal more seriously than they are in the wizarding community. Why do you ask Sebastien?" Dumbledore finally noticed that the French champion's father looked more distressed than he initially appeared. Expected, in a way, given his daughter's brush with death, but Madam Pomphrey was a fine healer, arguably one of the best in Britain. She had said she would be fine.

"How would you describe monsieur potter's character, headmaster?" Sebastien asked, not answering the headmaster's question.

"Well, Harry exemplifies his house. He is brave, headstrong when he feels something is right, incredibly loyal and more than his share of impulsiveness when rushing to the aid of others. He is the epitome of a Gryffindor. Sure, he is prone to brooding and moodiness, but what teenager is not every now and again. I am confident that is something that he will grow out of as he ages." Dumbledore finished his brief overview of Harry's character, clearly wondering where this conversation was going.

"How does he feel about his fame?"

"He detests it, actually. He sees it as a reminder of the family he lost. He also has confided a difficulty knowing why people want to get to know him for his story or for his person."

"You zhink he would eventually be a good man? A family oriented man? One who would be kind to his spouse and children?" Dumbledore was not often confused. He could usually tell what direction a conversation was going, but the French head of the DMLE had thrown the esteemed headmaster for a loop.

"All Harry has ever wanted was a family. He would view it as the greatest sin to harm that. What is all of this about, Sebastien?"

"My daughter." Fleur's father paused, took a deep breath and then continued his explanation. "Veela are where life debts originated. It is very old magic zhat will not be satisfied by a normal wizard's life debt. Zhe most common was to repay zhose debts was zhrough…" Mr. Delacour paused again. He was clearly having trouble detailing what exactly the most common form of repayment was for the veela who found themselves in this situation, but Dumbledore could guess.

"Zhe, uh, most common request of zhe veela was to live zhe rest of her life at zhe whim of zhe man who saved her. Most veela women become little more zhen toys o be used and discarded at zheir new master's leisure. So, of course, you can understand my concern for my child, but if you would give me a way to contact Mr. Potter's guardian I may have an idea zhat would be amenable to everyone involved."

"I am Mr. Potter's guardian when he is in our world. His guardians are his mother's muggle sister and her family, as such they cannot make decisions for him in our world. What would you like to propose Mr. Delacour?"

"Marriage." The Frenchman says with a small breath.

"Excuse me. What do you mean by marriage? Surely you cannot be suggesting what I think you are on the brink of war."

"Yes, a marriage contract, promising Fleur to Harry as a way to fulfill zhe life debt to him." Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, while popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

"If I were to agree to this contract, which would add the burden of a betrothal to young Mr. Potter on the brink of war, entail. Make no mistake, now that Voldemort is back Britain will end up at war with him."

"Of course, I spoke wiz my good friend from childhood Jean- Luc, zhe French minister of magic. He is Fleur's godfather and has given me leave to offer you French support; wands, funds, and any ozher assistance we can attain. Consider France your ally in zhe coming struggle. We are also offering Harry zhe family he wants. He would be most welcome in our home. He may spend zhe holidays wiz up if he would like, as well." With this Dumbledore interrupted him.

"I am afraid that Harry has certain protections on his home that require him to stay with his relatives for, at least, half the summer."

"Very well, he may spend half zhe summer and zhe Yule holidays with us to get to know Fleur and our family before he joins it, officially. I will also consent to Fleur transferring to Hogwarts to complete zhe final year of her education. I do not zhink I need to tell you, Dumbledore, what it can do for Hogwarts reputation to take zhe French tri wizard champion form Beauxbatons school." Sebastien finished, hopeful that it was enough to convince the headmaster that his charge and their country would be amenable to the agreement he was proposing.

"I will admit Sebastien that your offer sounds agreeable. It would be my honor to join the Potter line with the Delacours. I will admit I was concerned about a second war with Voldemort, but a French alliance will be most agreeable." Dumbledore's eyes had started twinkling with the realization that Britain now stood a chance in this war. He could only hope that Harry would still do what was necessary for the war effort, but he had no delusions about how angry the Potter heir was likely to be when he found out he would not be able to choose his wife. "Allow me to set up a dictaquill and we can get the details of this agreement set out. I will, personally, take this to the ministry and Gringotts in the morning to be filed. We can inform the children tomorrow afternoon, I would imagine."

"I would like to speak with my wife and daughter, myself, first. I feel zhis is news for my family zhat should come from me." The Frenchman said with some relief that his proposition had been accepted.

"I understand completely. You speak to your family and I will tell young Harry about this tomorrow."

"Very well, zhank you, headmaster. You have saved me much concern and lost sleep knowing my Fleur will be cared for." Sebastien said shaking the older man's hand and settling in for several hours of haggling over a contract. He just hoped his wife and daughter would agree that this would be the best thing for her.


End file.
